Happy kids

We went to the county fair family farm fest today!  It was all free!

Allison was too scared to ride the ponies.

At home, however, Allison is not afraid.  She is not afraid of her mother while she's in time out:

She even walks on walls:

July and August

Down in Provo Canyon at the eternal spring.

Up in the mountains last week last week for a beautiful little hike.

We planted zucchini plants while Nicole's friend was visiting two months ago.  We harvested our first zucchini last week!

We met up with Nicole's friend this week at a cute little farm.

Daddy worked all Saturday, so we went to a battle of the brewers!  You seriously missed out.

Daddy surrounded by his girls last night.

Stories

Allison loves getting read to.

National Parks and the Shakespeare Festival

We were fortunate to visit the Grand Canyon National Park recently.  I didn't take many pictures, but I did snap a couple shots of Allison hanging on the edge of the Grand Canyon.  She loved hanging on those bars and protested forcefully when I dragged her away.

We also visited Bryce Canyon National Park.  A tiny village along the way was extra accommodating of people with certain health restrictions.

Allison was the one who found no pleasure at all in seeing the canyon.

In fact, she appeared to be plotting some sort of revenge against her Daddy for confining her to the hiking backpack.

Something we've noticed about Allison is that she usually isn't sad, and usually doesn't cry.  She is occasionally fussy and tired.  When she's feeling uncomfortable about being separated from her parents, she may stand aloof and suck her thumb.  But her two main moods are 1)  happy, where she loves playing and making connections with others, and 2)  angry, where she fights with all her might until she succumbs to the futility of her resistance - the second mood illustrated in her reaction to being forced into a car seat for another 8 hour drive:

We had the pleasure of attending a Renaissance Fair, held at the park, and the Shakespeare Festival.

While being watched by Grandma, Nicole climbed to the top of the rope structure and waited there for ten minutes for me and Daddy to return so we could see her proud feat.

Nicole said the turkey leg tasted "like candy," and Allison kept asking for more "meat," "bite of meat."  They made their daddy proud.

Too much fun eating donuts:

This nice, creepy man was handing out balloons:

We saw Macbeth, which is one of the best productions I've seen, with terrific actors.  My mom said it's the best production she's seen.  The Shakespeare Festival offers professional childcare at a very reasonable price, so, while we watched the play, the kids enjoyed the company of other children and the tutelage of the teachers.  They sent her home with this project she created:

The teacher grimaced and said, "I tried to convince her to write, 'nice'..."

Being that we saw Macbeth, I thought Nicole's note was appropriate.

Fruit eating toddlers

Nicole, 14 months, eating an apricot

Allison, 22 months, eating an apple